Using Big Data: Exploring the Differences between Weekday and Weekend Travel Leta F. Huntsinger, PhD, PE Senior Technical Principal, WSP Xuan Wang, PhD, PE Project Manager, Regional Transportation Commission Working with Big Data Monday, May 15, 2017

Outline Motivation Background Data description and processing Weekday versus Weekend Comparisons Basic Trip Statistics Travel Time Comparisons District to District Flows Highway Assignment Results Summary and Conclusions

Average Weekday Models Weekday versus Weekend Travel Project Prioritization and Decision Making Research Motivation Household travel surveys and the travel models developed from those surveys typically represent average weekday travel. However, it is often the case that transportation planners and decision makers want to understand the impact of weekend travel on the transportation system, especially for communities with high levels of visitor travel The primary interest revolves around whether weekend travel is considerably different, and if so, how that would impact project prioritization and decision making.

Background Located in the high sierra mountains Biggest Little City Casinos, dining, and entertainment Lake Tahoe and world class ski resorts Over 4 million visitors per year (Washoe County)

Data Collection Study Area: Regional Transportation Commission (Washoe County, Nevada) Study Period: Month of October, 2015 Weekdays Weekends Data Provider: AirSage, Inc. Data Collection Funded by RTC Reno / Sparks urban center – only one in region, then surrounded by rural

Data Format 6 External Zones 77 Internal Zones OD Data: Trip ends outside these zones are mapped to nearest zone 77 Internal Zones Aggregations of model zones OD Data: OD Zone Pair Resident vs Visitor Synthesized Trip Purpose HBW HBO NHB Time of Day Average Weekday Average Weekend Expanded Trip Count

Data Processing Data provided in user specified districts Internal trip ends disaggregated to model TAZs External trip ends disaggregated to external stations District to District Zone to Zone

Weekday vs. Weekend Comparisons Basic Trip Statistics

Avg Weekday Avg Weekend Trips by HH 3.96 2.45 Trips by Per 1.70 1.05 Trips by ~Wk 0.43 0.14 Trips/Job 0.36 0.12

Weekday and Weekend Trips by Time of Day and Trip Purpose

Weekday and Weekend Trips by Time of Day and Trip Purpose

Weekday and Weekend Trips by Time of Day and Trip Purpose

Weekday vs. Weekend Comparisons Travel time Comparisons

AM Weekday Weekend Resident 9.82 9.23 Visitor 12.22 12.49 Total 10.99 11.00 MD Weekday Weekend Resident 8.96 8.80 Visitor 12.61 13.35 Total 10.63 11.33 PM Weekday Weekend Resident 8.96 8.70 Visitor 12.21 12.30 Total 10.30 10.39

Weekday vs. Weekend Comparisons District to district flows

Districts in the Region

5 Highest District to District Flows Weekday Weekend 14,059 13,954 13,317 12,467 11,781 12,175 10,325 9,122 8,332 8,002

5 Highest District to District Flows Residents Weekday Weekend 14,059 13,954 13,317 12,467 11,781 12,175 10,325 9,122 8,332 8,002

5 Highest District to District Flows Visitors Weekday Weekend 8,963 6,988 5,845 5,552 4,290 8,982 5,070 4,812 4,144 3,642

Absolute Difference

Absolute Difference (Normalized)

Percent Difference (Normalized)

Weekday vs. Weekend Comparisons Highway Assignment

Flow Comparisons in relation to gaming venues and Hotel Rooms Weekday Weekend

Flow Comparisons weekday vs weekend midday assignment Differences

Weekend Peak Volume > Weekday Peak volume

Summary and Conclusions Weekday vs Weekend Trip Patterns

Weekday vs. Weekend Differences For this case study: Overall weekday travel is higher for this case study Visitor travel higher on weekends Visitors make more NHB trips Different time of day patterns Average trip lengths are similar between weekday and weekend Visitor average trip lengths are longer Variations in flow patterns Variations in trip assignment

Conclusions Important to validate the data Data are useful in understanding variations in travel patterns Project prioritization and decision making The authors would like to thank AirSage, Inc. for the use of their data in this analysis

Questions? Leta F Huntsinger: huntsinger@pbworld.com Xuan Wang: xwang@rtcwashoe.com